Jon Heacock Coaching timeline

1979: Graduated from West Branch High School, Beloit. Selected to Ohio North-South all-star game. Coach was Dick Hartzell.

1979-83: Attended and graduated from Muskingum College in New Concord.

1983: Graduate assistant (defensive line) at University of Toledo.

1984: Served on the coaching staff at Steubenville High School. Team won the Div. II state championship.

1985-87: Served as defensive coordinator, defensive line coach and secondary coach at West Liberty (W. Va.).

1988-89: Graduate assistant at University of Michigan, working with defensive backs and special teams. Michigan won two Big Ten titles and appeared in the Rose Bowl twice, winning in 1989.

1990: Served as assistant coach at the U.S. Military Academy.

1991: Hired by Jim Tressel to serve as defensive backs coach at Youngstown State. Penguins finished 12-3 and won the NCAA Division I-AA national championship, defeating Marshall 25-17.

1992-1996: Promoted to defense coordinator at YSU. The Penguins were a combined 49-16-2, winning national championships in 1993 and 1994, and lost to Marshall in the 1992 title game. The 1993 team allowed just 15.5 points per game and the 1994 squad allowed only 10.1 points per game. The 1994 team finished the year 14-0-1, allowing 10 or fewer points nine times, and defeated Boise State in the championship game.

1997-1999: Joined Indiana University as defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach.

2000: Returned to YSU as defensive coordinator. Penguins went 9-3 and lost to Richmond in first round of the Division I-AA playoffs.

2001: Named YSU’s fifth head coach, replacing Jim Tressel. Penguins finished 8-3 but were not selected for the I-AA playoffs despite going 5-2 in the Gateway Conference to tie Western Kentucky for second place.

2002: Penguins went 7-4 overall and 4-3 in the Gateway Conference.

2003: YSU finished 5-7, the first losing season since 1995, and the first of two consecutive sub-.500 seasons.

2004: Penguins finished 4-7 and completed two-year mark of 4-10 in conference play.

2005: YSU rebounded for an 8-3 record and tied Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois for the league championship. Penguins, though, were again snubbed for the I-AA playoffs — their two league losses were to UNI and SIU. Heacock was rewarded after the season with a contract extension through 2010.

2006: Penguins left nothing to chance as far as the playoffs, winning the outright Gateway Conference championship with a 6-1 record. YSU won home playoff games against James Madison and Illinois State before losing to eventual national champion Appalachian State 49-24.

2007: YSU started 4-1 — the only loss at Ohio State, but lost three of its next four games to fall out of playoff contention. The Penguins rebounded to close the season with wins over Indiana State and Western Illinois to finish 7-4.

2008: The third losing season in eight years for Heacock, punctuated by 43-0 and 40-7 losses to Ohio State and South Dakota State, respectively, to open the year. YSU rebounded for two straight wins then lost their next six games, finishing 4-8.

2009: The return of 16 starters buoyed optimism. The Penguins opened with a 38-3 loss at Pittsburgh, then won their next three. The Penguins then lost four of their next five games before finishing with two wins.

Sunday: Heacock announced his resignation.

Monday: YSU athletic director Ron Strollo announced a national search would be conducted for the sixth coach in YSU history.

Staff report